Adiabatic:Phoenix
by DrizzleRizz
Summary: Roxas Hales is training to become a Keyblade Master to defend Twilight City from the impending darkness coming to destroy humankind. However, the only weird student at TCDA *is* Roxas: he has inhuman super powers. He thinks that he can take on the responsibilities of a Keyblade Master and defend the city with his powers, but can he really save it from such strong dark forces? AU
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own ANYTHING from the Kingdom Hearts series. Kingdom Hearts is owned by Disney, Square Enix, and Tetsuya Nomura.

* * *

_**PROLOGUE **_

**| 11:47 PM | | Summer 2001 | **

_The darkness is looking to destroy our civilization again. The world has already been destroyed around us by such forces, the Heartless, uniting and killing off most of the human population. Before everyone could be destroyed, we saved a few people from the shadows. The people that we saved were children, reasons being that they are easily trainable and can adapt to the environment they're in more easily than adults. In the labs, we tried to give them supernatural powers and other abilities that we've created from the genes of other animals and minerals. _

_We experimented on the remaining humans that we saved, adding the DNA of the fierce animals and resources to their bodies. around us to them. We'd observe and train them day and night, helping them control their animalistic tendencies. To the children we are training, we added different animal species genes to each one. Strangely, from earlier tests, the humans that we injected animal DNA into will grow into their teenage years and stop growing there. They will look the same age forever until they die naturally - starvation or dehydration - or hunted by others. _

_The species of animals that we have used DNA are for survival in the wild. If our city is destroyed, then darkness will continue to plague all worlds. The test subjects would need to learn how to feed off of other animals, plants, or feed off of each other's bodies. When it comes to survival, someone wins, or no one wins. _

_The laboratories in this area are planning on teaching a few of the test subjects how to summon the Heartless destroying weapons: the Keyblade. Only a select few can learn it, since the chances of having powers to handle a Keyblade are extremely rare, needing wielders with pure hearts. Others that can't will not truly destroy the Heartless forever, but will break only their bodies. _

_There's no telling when the Heartless will decide to destroy us again. I fear that day, though, when the only ones left surviving will be the shadows that are eating upon our hearts. I hope that our Keyblade Masters will defend this city for their lives, and that the humans will begin to thrive in this area once again. _

_That is, if I've chosen the right person to give my throne to after I die. _

_ - Ansem _

* * *

**|9:06 AM| |Fall 2005| **

_The animal DNA that we tried giving the test subjects seemed to disintegrate as soon as it entered their bloodstream. No traces of DNA were left in very many of them. It seems that our plan to make the humans live longer and become stronger has barely failed. I wish that the human race will be able to live through this for a few years, and that all will be well before the Heartless come back. Raise the Keyblade Masters well. _

_I leave th- - to my ap-i-e -ns- There's n- - -me -ft for -e. Th- e- o- -he -ea-s is alm- -re..- _

_[The writing on this page is faded. No more can be seen.]_

* * *

AN: Okay, I updated/fixed this because... Well, it didn't really feel great to read when I read it. There were parts where I felt some of the writing was to cheesy or unneeded. Seems better now than last time :)


	2. I : The Dreams That I Dream To Have

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own ANYTHING from the Kingdom Hearts series. Kingdom Hearts is owned by Disney, Square Enix, and Tetsuya Nomura.

* * *

_**CHAPTER I : The Dreams That I Dream To Have**_

Seven years afterwards...

An orange sunset, a gentle, blazing fire in the distance that lights the sky a bright orange. The view of it is perfect from the Twilight Clock Tower. I stand silently on the tip of the highest flagpole in the air, watching the clouds and the sun fall behind the horizon. The slight breeze makes my hair and my coat flow freely in the air.

It's a melancholic feeling, one that just lingers in my mind whenever I see this particular sight. With glazed over eyes, I feel a pain in my chest. I close my eyes. Why do I feel so sad? What's this feeling that's following me all the time? Or do I just let it come back?

Opening my eyes, I sense an eerie power near by. Running my hands through my wind swept hair, I look up at the sky one more time.

"I hate my job," I summon my Keyblade. Readying myself, I breathe in and out deeply, and tighten my grip on the Keyblade's handle. I jump off of the flagpole, falling headfirst to the ground. While in the air, a Heartless appears in my sight. The Heartless, heading straight towards me, readies an attack. Taking my Keyblade, I swiftly slash the heartless with the blade, causing damage to the creature.

I land on the ground on my two feet, thankfully. Watching the Heartless's body fade into the air and out of existence, I sigh. I don't want to keep doing this over and over again - I know that I can handle whatever comes at me. Xemnas doesn't believe me, though. What if I really was a Keyblade Master? What more would I do as one?

As I was thinking, I feel something sharp attack my back. Looking behind me, a group of Shadow Heartless appear before me. Gripping my Keyblade tightly, I try to back away from them. I hear their cries all around me, surrounding me from everywhere.

I hold up the Keyblade. "Thundara!" As I stood still, bolts of lightning circled around me, destroying the Shadow Heartless. Their bodies dispersed into the air, the embodiments of darkness fading away.

I call back the key, and stare down at the ground. _What is my purpose for this whole defense thing? Why was I chosen to do this in the first place?_ My mind goes blank for a few seconds before I realize that I need to get to the academy.

Instead of pressing on with that thought, I head towards the clock tower once again and enter the building. There isn't enough time to go back onto the clock tower.

* * *

"That will be 750 munny."

Handing the worker at the counter the money, I look around the station. It looks kind of empty today. I wonder what everybody's doing, and where they re? Sighing, I go and sit down at a bench.

Patiently waiting for the train, I open my phone and turn it on. 6:12 PM, it seems. It will be half an hour before the train gets here. Closing my phone, I look up and stare at the ceiling. Slowly, I close my eyes. I feel exhausted, tired out. I've been working all day, ready to go home and just talk to Sora about how my day was.

I woke up about fifteen minutes later. Rubbing my eyes, I saw that the train was coming. I stretch, and begin to walk towards it. As soon as it stopped, people were already running out of the doors to get off. Crowds of people came out of the train, trying to avoid from bumping into each other and get to their destinations.

Stepping into the train, I take a seat on one of the chairs. They're so comfy. I'm about to fall asleep. Oh well, I'll be there in about two and a half hours. I have time to get some sleep in.

Before shutting my eyes, I see a short-haired figure walk past me. She takes the seat across from mine. The girl has short, black hair and glasses that are placed in front of her dazzling, aquamarine eyes. A calico kitten is resting quietly on her lap, and her backpack sitting next to her. She runs her hand down the kitten's back, gently stroking the fur repeatedly from top to bottom. The kitten purrs in delight.

I turn my head and look out the window next to the girl. The sun's almost setting. I wish I was home, or, at least in my dorm. I can't wait to be promoted Keyblade Master rank - I'll finally be able to venture to outside worlds, seek the mysteries of the different places, and learn so many more things. I want to do more than defend others, I want to experience the mysteries and fascinating things as I defend people.

Slowly, I shut my eyes. My body feels content on the soft, plush seats of the train. My mind starts to fade to black as I fall into deep sleep. Good night.

* * *

I wake up. Groggily, I check my phone. 8:07 PM. I should be getting there shortly. The girl that was sitting across from me is gone. Only a few people were left on the train, sitting in seats farther away from me.

The train was really quiet now that the remainder of people have gone. I'm still pretty tired. Looking outside, the entire area was dark aside from the bright, round moon in the sky. Silently, I wait for the train to stop.

"Current stop is Radiant Garden, 5th Street. I repeat, current stop is Radiant Garden, 5th Street." I hear over the receiver.

I walk to the front of the train and give a tip to the engineer. After I get off the train and onto the ground, the doors shut and the train bolts off, continuing to get to the other stops.

I stand there, thinking of everything I could do when I reach Keyblade Master rank. I could do all sorts of things, like adventure, fight tough Heartless, defend the city, and live more freely. I'll be living my dreams, everything I've wanted to experience for a long time! I can't wait. The thought of it just excites me. Jittery, I run to the academy.

Blasting through the doors, I run through the main hall. I look for the doors leading to Xemnas's throne room, where the mark of Mastery tests take place. Before I'm able to fully open the doors, I'm greeted by my brother, Sora.

Sora, who is standing behind me, shouts, "Roxas, you're back!" He hugs me, and continues to talk. "Guess what? made a new friend today! She just moved here, so I wanted to help her get used to the place."

"Who is it?" I ask curiously.

Sora smiles. "Well, her name is Namine. To be honest, she's kind of cute."

"Oh, really? Find yourself a girl already?" I nudge him in the side with my elbow. "Show me a picture. of her. Is she cute?"

He checks his pockets. "Well, she gave me a business card. It has her photo on it." Sora pulls out the photo from his hoodie's pocket and shows it to me.

This girl, Namine Rivera, has light blonde hair and pretty blue eyes, like the eyes that the girl I sat across from on the train had. In the picture, she has long, wavy hair and long bangs and is wearing a red knit beret on her head. She has fair skin and a slender build. Specializes in art and photography.

"Hipster, probably." I guess jokingly. I hand the business card back to Sora.

He puts the card back into his pocket and pouts, giving me puppy dog eyes. "You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, Roxas."

I rub his head. Sarcastically, I say, "I know, what I did wasn't fair. I'm sorry."

Sora laughs. He notices that I partially opened the door before he came to talk to me.

I take out a pen and rip a piece of paper out of my notepad. I write down on it:

_"I want to take the exam Thursday - - Roxas" _

I fold it up and slide it under the door. I'll be able to take the exam to be promoted to Keyblade Master. There's nothing I can't do... All I have to do is believe that I can.

"You may not want to bother Xemnas right now. He's in the middle of planning something, so he needs to be able to pay attention."

I back away from the doors. "Do you know what he's working on?"

"I don't know," He stares at the doors, thinking. "I just hope it isn't something bad."

"What do you mean? What's so bad about Xemnas?"

Sora frowns. "He's strange in some ways. I, sometimes, can't go in there by myself if I need to get him something or talk with him. He seems a bit evil. Same with his looks."

I laugh. "Hey, I thought you just said 'don't judge a book by it's cover'."

"Yeah," He says, absentmindedly. "But there's something strange about him that makes me feel like puking."

I'm taken aback by his response. He doesn't usually say something like that to Xemnas. Normally, he's kind and friendly around him. "Is there something wrong, Sora?" I ask.

He shakes his head. Turning around, Sora heads into our dorm. I follow him into the dorm and take off my coat. Hanging it in the closet, I feel relieved and free. Sora was sitting on his bed, looking down. I look at him, and the sudden change in his attitude.

"Roxas," He starts. "Do you really think that we can do this? That we can become Keyblade Masters?"

I smile at him. "Of course. If we try hard enough, then we'll succeed, right?" I walk over to Sora and speak to him quietly. "Never let anything make you think that you can't do it, because you can. All that you need to do is dream."

"Okay then. But what if I wanted to fly?" he asks curiously.

I shift my eyes around the place, hoping for a good answer. "Uh, yeah, don't try flying without fairy magic or an airplane. Ever."

Sora hums. He stares blankly down at the floor. I'm kind of worried for him, to be honest. I've never seen him so lost in thought before. Sora's usually the happy, upbeat type of person that can get along with everybody. What is he thinking about right now?

"So, do you know if Demyx or Zexy's free today? Maybe we could play some hockey, or maybe have a struggle battle..." I cut myself off there, slurring the last word weirdly.

I know that my words aren't going to get anything out of him. He's out of this world, not caring about anything else.

I shrug and belly flop onto my bed. I guess he'll find his way out of it. Besides, every man for himself. I need to get some sleep. Turning over, I pull the bed sheets over me and look up at the ceiling. I can't wait to take the exam. There's so many things I'll be able to do.

"There are so many things I want to do, Sora," I say to him. "And I can't wait to take the exam on Thursday. I'll finally have the chance to do something I've always wanted to do."

He joyfully smiles. "Surely you'll be able to do it, because I believe in you, Roxas," Sora looks down, scratching his head lightly. "I've always seen you as being stronger than me, even though you're the younger one. I wish that I could be as strong as you."

I can sense the sadness he's feeling. Why, though? Why is he sad?

I sit up. "You are strong. All you need to do is believe that you can, then it's possible. You taught me that, remember?" I summon my Keyblade and raise it up into the air. He summons his, too, and raises it up next to mine. "We're brothers, and we'll always be there for each other no matter what, okay? So don't hesitate to tell me your problems when you need help."

Sora nods. "Of course we'll always be there for each other. You're my brother and I'm your brother, and I'll stay honest and always be by your side!"

I laugh. "Same here."

* * *

AN: Fixed errors! Double chapters for today! Aww. I feel kind of emotional because of their bond. Now, time to write about more things/people in the next chapter. I can't wait for it... I 'd appreciate reviews, thank you!


	3. II : Break Away

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own ANYTHING from the Kingdom Hearts series. Kingdom Hearts is owned by Disney, Square Enix, and Tetsuya Nomura.

* * *

**|Thursday Morning | **

The blinding sunlight comes in through my window. It's beams strike me right in my eyes, causing me to growl in sudden pain. Turning my head away from the window, I rub my eyes and yawn. I lazily lift my head from my pillow.

I look around the room. Where's Sora? He isn't here right now. Maybe he went downstairs to the cafeteria to get breakfast. Which reminds me: I need to ask him where he put my Student ID so I can actually buy meals here instead of have to make my own every day.

Slowly getting out of bed, I get a glance at the calendar as I get up. June 4th. Oh, right. The Mark of Mastery test I requested to take is today. Which means...

Instinctively, I look over to the door and notice a note slid under it. Sora must've left it there for me to read. I go over to the door and pick it up, unfolding the paper so I can see the whole message. I ran my hand through my hair as I read it.

_ "Come to the Throneroom." _

_ - Xemnas _

Putting the note on the nightstand, I hurry to my drawers and put some casual clothes on under my coat. I comb my hair and put my boots on. _Get ready, Roxas! This is your day to become more independent!_ Zipping up my coat as I head out the door, I slam into somebody that was passing by.

"Oof!" I bounce back, falling onto the floor.

Looking up, I see a blue-haired man with elfish ears and a mysterious X-shaped scar in the middle of his face in-between his eyes. He glares at me with his bright, menacing yellow eyes, giving me a 'You're dead tonight,' look.

I gulp. "Ah, sorry about that!" Quickly, I get up from the floor and run down the stairs. Looking back, I can see him still glaring at me. I turn my head away from him and continue running, hoping that I'd never meet those same eyes again.

* * *

"Sora Hales!" I shout to him.

Sora, who is sitting at one of the tables with Demyx and a teenager with faded, dark purple hair. Demyx jumps out of his chair and waves to me enthusiastically, the jump almost tipping his plate onto the cafeteria floor. Sora waves to me, as well, the other boy looking at me with a faint smile on his face.

I run over to the table and take a seat next to Sora. "Morning."

"Morning!" Demyx and Sora greet me.

Demyx jumps happily. "Have you met Zexion, yet? He's in the seat next to mine," He turns to face Zexion, who nods and looks over to me.

As I look at Zexion, he has long bangs that cover the right side of his face and short hair on the back of his head, and dark blue eyes. He's holding a book in his arms. The book has a strange symbol engraved on the front cover, accompanied by the words '_-Ignes Fatui- •another side•_'.

"Hello. You must be Roxas. I've heard a lot about you from these two," Zexion puts down the book on the table, stands up and walks over to me. He holds out his arm, waiting for me to shake his hand. "I'm Zexion. I've just moved here from Radiant Garden. Sora has told me that you're training to become a Keyblade Master for the Twilight City Defense Team. When will you be taking the Mark of Mastery test to become a part of the team?"

I shake his hand. "Ah, yeah. I'm taking the Mark of Mastery test today, actually. I don't know if it will be tough or not, though. I haven't heard much about it from others," He takes the seat next to me. I turn to face him. "I hope that I'll succeed, though!" I say with optimism.

Zexion smiles. "That would be a pretty amazing event, wouldn't it? I mean, you'd have less restrictions than regular students here would have."

Nodding, Sora says, "I can't wait for Roxas to become a Keyblade Master! I want to become a Keyblade Master, too! It would be great if I could work with Roxas to defend the city from darkness," He pats me on the head jokingly. "Right, Roxas?"

"He probably wouldn't want you hurt," Demyx teases. "After all, who wants to see somebody get hurt? That's why they have the TCDT."

Sighing, I rest my head on my hand. "I just wish that the TCDT was less strict. Then, we could do whatever we wanted to. We could live free, have more time to have fun and adventure; we'd be living our lives under our own control."

"That would be a dream," Demyx says quietly to himself in a dreamy mood. "No dorms, no strict teachers we have to deal with, no homework, no time we need to got to bed at, party whenever we want," He sighs. "If only..."

Sora puts a napkin in front of me and places one of his leftover blueberry muffins that he made last night on it. "You need to eat up before you take the Mark of Mastery test. You'll be taking it after this, right?"

I nod. "Yup! Thanks! I can't wait to take it and become a Keyblade Master."

My brother hugs me tightly. "I'm sure you'll do well!" He steps away. "But, if you fail it, promise us not to take it too hard on yourself, okay?"

Zexion and Demyx look at me eagerly with Sora standing in front of me, waiting for me to give an answer.

I nod my head. "I promise." I say, smiling at him.

* * *

Walking out of the cafeteria, I enter the hallway. Finding the huge double-doors leading to the Throne room, I push one open and head into the room.

"Xemnas!" I call out to him.

Xemnas, sitting on his throne, looks at me with a bored look on his face. "What is it you need, Roxas?"

I say to him, "I want to take the Mark of Mastery test! I feel as if I'm ready to live the experience!"

His face lights up. "Oh, yes," He said, probably remembering the note he wrote for me. "Come here. I need to talk a little bit more about this."

Walking towards him, I examine the room. It looks a bit different. Is this how it's set up for the Mark of Mastery test every time?

As I stop in front of him, Xemnas laughs. "You do know, Roxas, that becoming a Keyblade Master means you will have to take on many responsibilities. You'd need to defend the city with everything that you've learned throughout your courses. You will probably be trapped within the city doing your job until your mind is eaten away by the darkness when it comes," Xemnas looks down at me, grinning. "Of course, I shouldn't stop you from doing what you want," He leans back in his throne. Staring at me with his intimidating yellow eyes, he says, "I just need you to be prepared for what's coming. Are you truly prepared for a horde of Heartless to attack the city? Even the risks there are to being attacked by so many heartless at a time, and the chances of losing your heart, your life to them?"

I think for a moment. What if I'm really not prepared for this? I'll be an empty shell if that happens. What would Sora do if I'm gone? Would he be lonely, lost, unreachable by others? No. I need to believe in myself, and that I can do this, and pass. "I know I can do this. If I try hard enough, I can succeed, no matter what obstacle it is." I speak with confidence, tightening my fists.

Xemnas sits upright in his chair. He laughs. "Very well, then. Roxas, are you prepared for the Mark of Mastery test?" There's a menacing, dark smile on his face.

"Yes."

He laughs again. Raising both his arms up, he summons an enemy. Appearing in front of me, it rises from the dark void made on the floor, screeching. It's a gigantic heartless, bigger than a Dark Side; I've never seen one of these Heartless' before. Its skin was very dark purple, and it stared down at me with its bright yellow eyes as purple Shadow Heartless came out of the void of darkness below it.

I summoned the Keyblade and got into my fighting stance. Concentrating, I focus my gaze on the Heartless.

The Heartless attacks me first, trying to strike me with its huge, claw-like fingers. I jump away from the powerful blow to the floor. Tiny pieces of the flooring fly through the air, huge cracks left on the panels from the monster's fist.

I point the Keyblade at the Heartless. "Blizzara!" A chunk of ice appears and heads towards the Heartless, piercing its chest. It roars in pain. I take a few steps back, ready for another attack from it.

Seconds later, the Heartless pounds its fist down on the floor in front of it, making a pulsating void of darkness. Not minding the Shadows, I run up its arm and attack its head with a combo of six hits. Its head bobs side to side with each coming strike. Quickly, before it raises its fist back up, I jump off of its arm onto the wrecked floor of the room.

It screeches loudly again, irritated and annoyed. I could see the anger in its eyes. An orb forms in the fleshy, heart-shaped gap in its chest. As countless tiny Shadow Heartless come from the void, the Heartless stomps back, charging up its lethal attack and lets the orbs from the gap come at me.

Trying to block and dodge all attacks, I'm scratched in the back by Shadows. The stinging pain paralyzes me for a moment. I get back into my fighting stance and slash away at the Shadows coming at me from all sides. I take a breath after they vanish into the air. Then, I'm knocked back by the dark orbs that the Heartless was attacking me with. Before the Heartless could attack me, I roll out of the way, barely dodging its fist hitting the ground again.

My heart is beating fast with excitement and fear. The battle feels intense right now, being a win or lose situation. I run up to the Heartless and swing my Keyblade at its arm numerous times, trying to destroy the monstrous Heartless. The Heartless wouldn't stop its moves, though, hitting me with more orbs of darkness. My Keyblade is hit out of my hands.

I fall onto the ground. Trying to recover, I get back up from the painful attack and pick up my Keyblade off the rubble. Turning around, my sight goes blurry as I'm attacked directly by the dark monster.

I'm grabbed by the neck and smashed into a pillar with quick, full force. I silently scream, only able to let out a small sigh. The bones in my body feel broke, and I ache all over. My body trembles, then feels like it's crumbling away from the attack._ I... Why? What just happened?_ I try hard to forget all of the pain and gasp for air, trying to struggle out of the Heartless's tight grasp on my throat. Looking over to Xemnas, who is seated on his throne watching me be choked by the Heartless, is smiling with delight.

I tried hard to get out, but the more I struggled, the tighter the Heartless's grip on my neck got. The Heartless's skin was tough and hard to rip through with my Keyblade. I couldn't yell to get help, nor could I even speak a word. I need to break free! _Break away...!_ Eventually, I dropped my Keyblade, hearing its clanking noises as it fell onto the floor. My body started to continually weaken as it was being suffocated. I was stuck to the wall, only being held up by the hand of my enemy. My vision went black as I fell unconscious.

The last thing that I saw from my test, though, was Xemnas clapping with a joyful smile on his face as he watched the giant Heartless drain my life away by the second.

* * *

"Poor, poor Roxas, my dear student...

You can't win every game, you know that, no matter how hard you try to succeed."

* * *

AN: Well, I tried. I tried to make a good fight scene this time! :D I don't know if it's good enough, though. Oh well, this chapter is just a little shorter than other chapters I've written since I didn't really know what to include in it besides the pre-fight scene with Sora and his friends and the test. Also, yay for Saix getting a scene! I've got my plans for him in this story... Review, please? Thanks! :)


End file.
